


All I Know is a Simple Name (and Everything Has Changed)

by leezh



Category: Ed Sheeran (Musician), Everything Has Changed - Taylor Swift/Ed Sheeran (Music Video), Taylor Swift (Musician)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Music, Kid Fic, Minor Injuries, Unofficial Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-22
Updated: 2015-03-22
Packaged: 2018-03-19 02:43:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3593367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leezh/pseuds/leezh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sequel to the Music Video of "Everything Has Changed" by Taylor Swift (feat. Ed Sheeran). AU.</p><p>Taylor could not help but smile fondly whenever she picked her sister up from her school and saw her playing animatedly with her BBF, an adorable ginger-haired boy. She wished she could say the same about the boy's brother, though.</p><p>But one day, everything changed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All I Know is a Simple Name (and Everything Has Changed)

"Taylor, can I get some ice cream?”

Taylor looked down at her sister who was looking up at her with her big blue eyes and hopeful smile. Trust Autumn to take advantage of the fact that it was her - instead of Mom - who was picking her up from school today, because their Mom would say ‘No’ to the ice cream request in a heartbeat, but Autumn knew that Taylor just had the tiniest bit of sweet spot for her.

She looked at Mr. McAllister’s white cart across the street with his _“Tasty Healthy Desserts: Juice, Yoghurt & Ice Cream”_ sign and pretended to think it over for a minute - just for the sake of ‘wise big sister’ appearance - before answering, “Okay, but make it some yoghurt, and you’re on.”

“Yay!”

And just like that, the little girl turned sideways and instantly sprinted up to her super best friend, a boy with cute ginger curls and blue eyes and called up to him, “Come on, Riley!”

To his credit, Riley, a polite eight-year-old that he was, did not instantly abandon his own brother and just ran off with Autumn. The little boy flashed his missing-a-front-tooth smile, obviously asking for his older brother’s permission first.

Taylor watched as Riley’s brother smiled in return and ruffled the boy’s hair up before answering, “Ok, just be careful when you cross the street.”

Taylor laughed softly as she watched the two kids running over to their favorite street vendor at the school district. She stood in patience before crossing the street herself, waiting for the rush of traffic to pass first, to which Riley’s brother ended up standing next to her.

Taylor flashed him her polite smile, because she was a nice girl, and nice girls flashed their smiles to tattoo-ed boys with black shirt ( _does he even wash his shirt?_ ) and messy hair even though they didn’t actually approve of the whole ‘looking like thugs’ look.

Weird thing is, her Mom liked Riley’s brother just as much as Riley himself.

And while Taylor can see how charming Riley was, all huge eyes and cheerful demeanor, she still failed to picture her Mom talking about her latest baking disastrous experiment with the previously mentioned older brother.

An awkward pause fell over them. Taylor raised her arm to check on her watch, just so she had something to do.

“You know, I’ll be happy to drop Autumn off later if you’re in a hurry,” he said from her right.

“Oh,” Taylor automatically said, “That’s okay. I still got time. Thanks.”

The truth was, she got the afternoon free and got nowhere else to be, but there was no way she was going to tell him that she was just that impatient to take Autumn home just so she wouldn’t have to deal with him.

“Alright,” Taylor heard him replied from somewhere beside her, but her attention has been distracted by the sound of the loud bang and-

“What’s that?” she began to say, confused, because she could swear that it sounded like there was an explosion nearby, ( _but that’s impossible, because it is a quiet school district and there can not possibly be any dangerous infrastructures nearby and-_ )

It was then that she saw it.

The truck, moving in what seemed to be unnatural accelerated speed and weird trajectory. She realized in horror that it was the source of the previous loud noise and that it was moving out of control directly towards Mr. McAllister’s cart - and Autumn.

 

x x

 

All she could hear was the screams - her own, obviously, but also the screams of the horrified kids and parents alike as it finally registered in her brain that a freaking truck had just completely ran off the ground right in front of her towards the white cart and-

“Autumn!” _Oh my God, no, no, no_ , she breathed, horrified to see some flashes of white on her vision over at the ground just a few feet from the collapsed truck.

_God, please, no!_

“AUTUMN!” She screamed again, rushing over immediately, thinking repeatedly, _What do I do? What do I do, what do I freaking do?_ as she reached her to pick her up from the ground.

Shaking, she inspected her sister for any injuries.

The girl’s obviously in shock, missing one shoe and got some dirt on her hair, arms and legs, but Taylor could not see any signs of injuries. She could instantly feel the relief flooding all over her body. “Oh my God, Autumn."

“I’m okay, Taylor,” Autumn said, voice muffled in between her sister’s relieved embrace.

It took her a few seconds later for her heartbeat to eventually went back to normal, and that was when she realized that Riley and his brother was still sprawled a few feet from her and Autumn.

Taylor finally diverted her attention from her sister.

It should be Riley’s brother who got both kids out of the way, she realized then, because the older ginger was still half lying half sitting on the ground among the debris with a frantic look on his face. He seemed to hold on to Riley with all of his life, scanning him just like what she did-

“You didn’t-” she could hear him breathing out, his voice rasped. “God-”

And something just tugged at Taylor’s heartstrings.

“You okay?” Taylor called out, referring to his bleeding arm. He should have struck something when he sprinted over to secure the kids, because he got blood trails all over the tattoos on his left arm.

“Oh-” he started, distracted. “It’s nothing, I’ll-”

Taylor watched him as he tried to stand upright, instantly wincing. “I’ll be… okay,” he managed finally.

It was at that moment that Mr. McAllister rushed over to them. “You kids all alright?”

“Guess so,” Riley’s brother said, but clearly he was still dazed by the whole thing, “But- Can you please take Riley home with you?”

It took Taylor a moment to realize that he was speaking to her.

“I’ll- I will pick him up later, if that’s okay.”

“Sure,” she said, distracted over his blood trails. _That must be a pretty deep cut._

“Thanks.”

She was in the process of opening up her mouth to ask him if he really was okay when she heard voices from behind, calling her.

Taylor turned to see Aunt Brittany, Eugene and Elsa, her Mom's friends and parents of Autumn's classmates, rushing over to all of them with motherly concern on their faces.

"Just shaken up," she reassured them. "I'll be sure to call Mom and head straight home, don't need to worry, Aunt Brit," she said, before turning her attention back to the kids. "Come on, Riley, Autumn."

But they were not listening to her.

"Why does Ed leave with Mr. Juice?" She could hear Riley asked Autumn, "Doesn't he want to go home?"

Taylor looked up, and then she saw what the boy meant. His brother was walking away with Mr. McAllister - or Mr. Juice, like what the kids often called the vendor man - all right, but he was clearly struggling with his balance as was leaning on the older man for support.

It was like her gut had just been punched as the realization dawned on her.

_He's hurt pretty badly._

 

x x

 

"Come on, boy, easy now," Mr. McAllister said as he opened the door of his car and tried to ease him - _Ed_ , Taylor recalled - onto the backseat.

Wasting no more time, Taylor practically dumped the kids on Aunt Brit with rushed apology before sprinting over to the vendor man. Mr. McAllister didn’t say anything. He just gave her a slight nod, acknowledging her presence as Taylor slipped into the car as well.

“I thought you’re bringing them home,” Ed said.

“Asked one of my mother’s friends to drop them off,” she replied, assessing him in silence.

His hand was clutching his left side, and even though she could not see it due to the black color of his shirt, she knew that it should be soaking with blood, as his hand was covered entirely with red. She could practically smell the scent of metal in the air, and she fought the urge to lurch right there and then.

Instead, she fished for her shawl inside her bag - thankfully she liked to bring it around with her - and then rolled it up before gently handing it to him.

“Thanks,” he said.

She looked up to find him looking back at her. “It’s not as bad as it seems,” he said, softly.

Much later on, Taylor would look back at that moment and say with certainty that she just hated the way he could be such a shitty liar.

 

x x

 

He got some shreds stuck just below his lowest left rib, his Emergency Doctor had said. He’s lucky, because a couple of inches higher and he could be dead already.

Taylor tried not to think about it - _What if it was higher? What if his reflexes weren’t fast enough? What would happen to Autumn and Riley? What if_ \- as she stared at the space between her and Ed.

She found herself sitting on the bed next to his, their beds separated only by the white curtain of the Emergency Unit. Her hands felt numb. She had washed his blood away, and she could not help but  felt sick every time someone with a lab coat approaching their area.

It felt like hours before one of the nurses gently patted her knee. “You may go talk to your boyfriend now,” she said, moving on to pull the white curtain open.

“Huh?” was her first reaction, before she blurted her explanation, “He’s not my-” but it was futile, as the nurse had already moved on to another area to tend to other patients.

Taylor looked on to see him with his back to her, his lower torso and upper left arm wrapped in bandages. She felt the sense of enormous relief seeing him at least sitting upright.

Somehow, her mouth went dry. What would she say?

“Hey,” she said finally.

He looked better, she supposed, as better as he could possibly look after the Doctor finished extracting all the shreds out and patching him over. She noticed that he got a slight glazed look on his eyes.

 _Must be the painkillers_ , she mused.

“I don’t suppose you have an extra shirt with you?” he asked, throwing her a lopsided smile. Taylor tried hard not to notice that apart from his bandages, he was actually topless, his hospital gown nowhere to be seen.

“They say you should spend at least a night here,” Taylor answered instead, repeating what the nurse had said to her when he was all being patched up.

He shook his head slightly.

“Why?”

It took him a moment to answer, but he eventually did. “It’s just- It’s just Riley and me, and-” He paused. “He’s got school, and- I’ve never- I don’t really have anyone to… You know.”

“He can just sleep over at our house,” she blurted out, wondering how furious her parents would be with her for not consulting with them first about the idea, but the words just came pouring out before she could stop herself. “I will take him and Autumn to school, and also pick him up, take him here tomorrow so you guys can go home together.”

“Uh-” He took his time to gather his words together. It was probably the painkillers too. “Are you sure...that’s okay?”

“Sure,” she replied, perhaps a little bit too quickly. “Why not? Let me confirm with my parents too, okay? Hang on.”

Her mother answered on the second ring, and the first thing she said was: “How’s Edward?”

(For a split second, she thought about why of course it did not surprise her that her Mom knew and remember his full name.)

“Got some shreds stuck, but the Doctor managed to get them all out,” she answered, “He’ll be okay. It’s just that he’s advised to stay a night here, you know, just to be sure, so I suggested that Riley can sleep over at our house, and-”

“Seriously, Taylor?”

If anything, she thought that her Mom would be beyond understanding, but-

“And we just leave Edward all by himself in the hospital?” her mother continued, her voice impatient. “No, hang on, your Dad can pick you guys up. He can stay the night at ours just as well.”

And just like that, her Mom hung up on her. leaving Taylor to wonder what the hell had just happened.

 

x x

 

True to her mother’s phone call, her father picked both of them up, bringing along a fresh shirt so Ed could change before they left the hospital.

And as soon as he entered their house right after her Dad and herself, her mother practically fussed all over him. “Edward!” Taylor could hear the worry in her voice, “You scared us!”

“I’m okay,” he replied, looking embarrassed, but her Mom just continued to put her palm over his forehead to check for his temperature.

“God, you’re burning up!” she exclaimed. “Bed, right away!”

 

x x

 

And now, Taylor found herself was still widely awake, even though last time she checked it was already way past midnight. She tossed and turned on her bed, the day’s events flashed through her mind.

After finally deciding that she might as well got up and made herself a hot cup of chocolate first before trying to go back to sleep, she flicked her bedside lamps on, wore her slippers, and then headed out of her room.

Curiously, she saw the lights downstairs, and it was coming from the kitchen. And soon enough, she saw him with his back to her, wearing what she recognized as a slightly oversized shirt of her Dad. He was standing over the stove, apparently in the process of boiling some water.

He should have heard her steps coming down the stairs, because then he turned to face her. “Oh, sorry, I just want some tea. Hope it’s okay.”

“Of course,” Taylor said, walked deeper into the room.

It took her a moment to remember that they both hadn’t had any proper dinner that day. Her mother had offered to fix something for both of them, but she was simply beat and told her that she would just go to bed right away, and he agreed.

It was no wonder that she could not sleep, she was famished.

“Aren’t you hungry?” she asked. He said nothing, just looked all sheepish, and it prompted a laugh out of her. “Thought so, because I’m starving too.”

In no time, Taylor had fixed them both with some sandwiches. They sat on the kitchen counter, on each other's opposite.

“Thank you, it’s such a terrific meal,” he said, smiling.

Taylor noticed that his messy hair and his tattoos didn't really bother her anymore. In fact, now she looked at them and instead of thinking ‘ _ugh_ ’, she thought they were, well, _rather cute_.

“No,” she said, thinking of Autumn. She fixed him her utmost sincere gaze, “Thank you.”

A specific mood fell on him then. She watched as his smile faded, slightly, and he lowered his gaze onto his cup of tea.

They fell silent for a moment, before-

“Our parents- They died in a car crash,” Ed finally offered, his gaze still not meeting hers. “He’s all I got left.”

She said nothing, because what should she said in moments like those?

She did notice he was shivering slightly.

And then, seeing him looking all vulnerable and looked so much like a kid right then, she could not help herself. Her hand raised up, already halfway across the counter before she managed to stop herself.

But not before the thoughts of how his ginger locks of hair would feel like under her fingers flashed through her mind.

Ed looked startled at her sudden movement, and also by the sudden lack of it.

“Sorry, reflexes,” she explained lamely. “I just noticed you’re freezing, and-” _God_ , she must be blushing so hard now.

She expected the awkwardness to follow. Instead, she timidly looked up to see him flashing his blue eyes - the bluest she had ever seen - at her, with such gentle look on his eyes.

She watched as he was leaning in-

And before her brain could register what really just happened, he had kissed her on her lips.

Taylor closed her eyes. His lips were equally soft, tasted just like the chamomile tea he just drank, and she could tell that he still got the slightest fever.

“What was that for?” she breathed out.

“Just feel like it,” he answered, smiling, “I like you fussing all over me.”

 

xx

 

The next morning, Autumn, the first one to rise, walked into the living room to find the two young adults sprawled over the sofa, sleeping soundly opposite the muted TV, her sister Taylor got her head resting on Ed’s shoulder with their fingers interlocked.

 

THE END.

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta-ed, but hopefully still readable.


End file.
